Tuesday, February 19, 2013

D' Wonder Twins of Boac (PETA)

Article from http://3xhcch.blogspot.comOriginal Article can be found HERE"D' Wonder
Twins of Boac" is the last offering of PETA for its 45th theater season.
Writer Rody Vera adapted Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" and transported
the story to the Philippine movie industry of the late 1960s when the
film studio system was already on the decline. I found that a very
interesting concept, and furthermore, it will star one of my favorite
stage actresses Cris Villonco in the lead. This was most certainly a
must-watch for me.

Viola (Cris
Villonco) and Bastian (Chrome Cosio) are the titular twins from Boac,
who were a talented song and dance duo. On their way to try their luck
in the movie industry in Manila, their ship capsizes and the two were
separated when they were lost at sea. We later see Viola in Manila as a
sampaguita vendor. When she hears that Campanilla Pictures were holding
an audition for an Elvis movie, she gets the idea to dress as a boy
named Cesar to try her luck.

The owner of
Campanilla Pictures, Don Orsino (Lex Marcos), wants to propose marriage
to the recently-widowed Donya Olivia (Shamaine Centenera-Buencamino) of
rival BLV Pictures, in order to unite their two studios. He sends Cesar
to be his emissary to Olivia. However, fate has it that Olivia actually
takes a fancy to fair Cesar, not knowing that "he" was actually a girl
in disguise. By this time, Viola/Cesar was already falling in love with
Don Orsino!

On the other
hand, unknown to Viola, Bastian had long been in training as a movie
stuntman, so it was inevitable that the twins' paths will cross one day.
However, how will Bastian figure in this already complicated love
triangle entangled in a web-like comedy of errors that his
cross-dressing sister is now involved in?

This whole
absurd situation is hilarious as you can imagine. The comedy worked
back in Shakespeare's time and it works up to now. The director Maribel
Legarda, fresh from her directorial successes in other PETA hit shows
"William" and "Care Divas," injected a lot more Pinoy comic touches to
tickle the young audiences whom this play targets. The theater was
full-packed to the rafters with high school and college students and
they were really howling with laughter in many scenes.

I have never
seen Cris Villonco in a role like Viola before. She was quite "cute" as
Cesar. Of course, she did not really look like a real man, but she
looked like she was having a lot of fun doing it. Her songs were in a
more pop voice and style, rather than the trilling soprano we are more
used to hearing her sing in her previous shows like "Walang Sugat" and
"Noli Me Tangere." Those scenes of Doc Orsino and Direk Luciano (Roi
Calilong) teaching Cesar how to seduce a woman was very laugh-out-loud
funny, as with that scene where Donya Olivia turns the tables on Cesar
seducing moves.

Chrome Cosio's
role as Bastian was not as extensive as Viola's. His memorable
highlight were those scenes with his stunts trainer, the sneaky Antonio
(Riki Benedicto), that really brought the house down with laughter!
Chrome was not shy in showing off his physique, to the delight of the
high school girls in the audience. However, since he was showing his
body off several times from the first song number to the last, it did
look a little too repetitive, thus losing its novelty factor.

This is my
first time to see the acclaimed Shamaine Centenera live in action.She
was very fierce, funny and fearless as Dona Olivia. She had a near
wardrobe malfunction during the show I watched, but she survived it with
aplomb. Lex Marcos was debonair as Doc Orsino, but also very funny. I
cannot imagine his alternate, the older Bodjie Pascua, to be better fit
as Orsino than Lex.

A side plot
involved Luciano, a low-brow director of masses-oriented "bakya" movies,
and his nemesis Malvolio, who is a snobbish director of quality serious
films. The conflict between these two directors was also very
interesting as it was funny. The Malvolio character took time to warm
up to the audience though, as played by Lao Rodriguez. The supporting
characters of Olivia's drunken Uncle Toma (Gie Onida), her foolish
suitor Rudy Castelvi (Eric V. dela Cruz) and her secretary Maria (Kat
Castillo) also had their funny moments.

The whole play
worked out quite rollickingly fun. Well, that is, until the ending when
they tried to inject something of a historical perspective as to what
happens next in Philippine cinema. In my opinion, it did not really end
the show too well, as it felt like a totally different play. There was
that one moment when the audience fell silent also, so I think maybe
they did not get it too. This is only the first weekend though, and
maybe they still tweak the execution of that scene a little in the
coming shows. In any case, after that momentary hiccup, the play
recovered when the final song number came on and enlivened the stage
again.

(photo credit: PETA FB page)

When I entered
the auditorium and took my seat, the first thing I noted was that the
old stage was not there. Instead there was a beautiful multi-tiered
stage with a staircase going up to the balcony on one side. There were
now seats all around this stage. This new stage made everything more
exciting.Congratulations
to PETA, Ms. Maribel Legarda, Mr. Rody Vera and the cast and crew of
"D' Wonder Twins of Boac" for this most innovative and originally
envisioned Shakespearean play I have seen, after "King Lear" also by
PETA just a couple of years ago. May you continue to succeed in your
mission to bring to the Filipino youth original interpretations of the
Philippines' and the world's best literature!